


Carny Town

by sweetcarolanne



Series: Angel!Verse [7]
Category: American Horror Story: Freak Show, Freaks (1932), Real Person Fiction
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, Carnival, Circus, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Games, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Love, M/M, Marriage, Multi, Polyamory, Romance, Threesome - F/F/M, Transgender, Travel, freaks, microcephaly, pinhead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 14:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5094089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetcarolanne/pseuds/sweetcarolanne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A crossover of two favorite fandoms and an AU of my Angel!Verse AU (in this one, the angel is the lover of both Pepper and Salty!) </p><p>Set before the events of American Horror Story: Freak Show. Pepper and Salty travel with the carnival to their off season haven and are reunited with old friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carny Town

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my sweet friend Mii-Mii Ramone.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters - they're just playing with me! Making no money so suing is futile.
> 
> Many thanks to my beta who wishes to remain anonymous.

That time of the year had inevitably come around again, the off season for circuses and carnivals. Sideshow people from all over the country had headed to their wintering town, and the residents, staff and affiliates of Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities were no exception.

Ma Petite was fast asleep, tired from traveling, when Elsa Mars and her troupe of performers arrived in “Carny Town”, as the place was nicknamed, but the tender-hearted pair who cared for the tiny woman, pinheads Pepper and Salty, were wide awake and keen to be outside and run around. Excitement and a sense of merriment were in the air; Pepper especially remembered what fun she and Salty had had the previous year in Carny Town, and she reached over to squeeze Salty’s hand, a huge smile on her sweet little face. Both of them knew that soon they would be reunited with friends they had not seen for a whole twelve months. 

Many people, upon first seeing the adorable duo and their pure affection for one another, often mistook them for brother and sister. In fact, they were husband and wife after their own unique fashion, wedded by the owner of their traveling show, Elsa Mars, and formed into an unusual but exquisitely loving little family with Ma Petite filling the role of their “child”. 

And Pepper and Salty even had someone else who was very special to them in their lives – another “wife” of sorts. She was a lovely lady who followed the show and enjoyed visiting with Pepper and Salty. She brought the pair gifts and treats and took them on outings to fascinating places, and was teaching them new and exciting ways to love both her and each other.

“Our angel” was how Pepper liked to refer to their lover and benefactor. On their journey towards their winter home, as they drew ever closer to their destination, Pepper had whispered in Salty’s ear that she hoped their angel would come to see them in Carny Town. Salty had nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling as he ducked his head, grinning and blushing. Neither Pepper nor Salty could put exactly how they were feeling into words, but both of them longed to be held in their angel’s arms again, and missed the sweetness of her voice, the scent of her hair and the inviting swell of her breasts. 

As soon as the camp was set up and living quarters all established, the two of them were out playing under the starry skies. A very short time had elapsed before Pepper and Salty heard joyful cries and saw a small figure clad in a bright blue dress dashing towards them. 

Pepper saw the swift, slight form approaching first. With a loud squeal of delight she launched herself towards the newcomer, calling “Schlitzie! Schlitzie!” Salty sped after her, and the two of them were soon breathlessly involved in a three-way hug with the friend whose facial features and wide, ecstatic smile so closely resembled their own. 

To fans of the circus and carnival world, she was the legendary Schlitzie the Pinhead, one of the most famous sideshow attractions of all time. But to Salty and Pepper, she was the dearly beloved playmate they had not seen for so long and were blissfully happy to be with again. 

And best of all, she was somebody just like them. 

She was somebody who knew deep in her bones that that the magic of fun and games was a necessity of life. And that what a person said out loud didn’t have to make sense to everyone all the time – communicating with an open and loving heart was the most important thing of all. Schlitzie spoke a language that was not words but was instead sheer love and playfulness and hope unclouded by despair – a language that Pepper and Salty understood completely and were expert in themselves.

Soon the newly-formed trio were involved in a delightfully frantic chasing game, the only rules seeming to be that everyone ran wherever they liked and called happily to one another as they did so. In and out between wagons and tents they wove, startling a dignified woman clad in stunning red and gold silks who seemed even taller than Amazon Eve, narrowly missing a team of tethered horses who stood in a circle steadily cropping away at clumps of grass, and causing a juggler to drop the shiny silver rings he had been tossing into the air. He snorted in frustration at first, but then could not help laughing when he got a better view of the cause of his mishap. For who could possibly stay angry with such joyous little folk?

Somewhere in the distance, an elephant trumpeted and several monkeys began to chatter, hoot and howl. The air was filled with the scent of campfires and cooking, and a few groups of people were making merry around their fires, becoming rather noisy as they did so and more than slightly drunk. But Pepper, Salty and Schlitzie paid all of this no mind. As they stopped for a few moments to catch their breath, their attention was diverted by the approach of a man’s footsteps and the sound of a familiar cheerful voice.

“Hey, you two! Long time no see! Come over and say hello. Can’t let my better half have all the fun now, can I? My, but you’re both looking pretty good!”

Pepper and Salty turned and were all smiles again in moments as they ran over to hug the man who had just walked up to them. Schlitzie sped across and embraced him too, just as happy to see him as her companions were, even though she got to see him every day. Schlitzie and the man who was proud to call himself her husband were with Madame Tetrallini’s Circus, which had been based in the United States since just before the war, and had been happy employees of that show for a very long time.

The face of Schlitzie’s beloved was a little more lined and his hair had a few more threads of gray in it than when Pepper and Salty had seen him last, but Phroso the Clown was just as handsome as ever. And it was obvious from the way he was beaming at Schlitzie that he thought her completely and utterly beautiful, as he had done for so many years and always would.

“How’s married life treating you kids?” Phroso asked, giving Pepper and Salty affectionate pats on their shoulders. “Hope everything’s swell with you two, and that little gal of yours – catching up on her beauty sleep, is she? Well, we’ll go say hi to her later when she’s awake. As you can see, everything’s just fine with me and Schlitzie here. She was real excited when she heard you were coming – got all dolled up in a brand new dress and everything! Which she knows she looks absolutely gorgeous in, of course!” Phroso reached to playfully tweak his little wife’s top-knot and she giggled, blushing bashfully and turning to one side; one hand now was twisting in her skirt and her eyes were bright with happiness.

“We was playing a real fun game!” Pepper declared, and Salty nodded in agreement, smiling widely with an ear-to-ear grin. 

“I can see that,” said Phroso, with a smile just as broad as Salty’s. “And I bet there’ll be plenty more soon. There’s fun and games all over the place around here! Your Miss Elsa’s probably found Madame Tetrallini by now and they’ll be having a fine old gossip, and that crowd over there seem to think they’re having fun.” He indicated one of the groups of drunken revelers. “But I think we can enjoy ourselves a heck of a lot better than they can. Why, when Ma Petite’s awake, and that nice lady who always comes to visit you kids gets here, we should have a proper party, and invite all the folks from both our shows! With dancing and everything!”

Pepper and Salty gasped and looked very pleased indeed, as did Schlitzie. “I got pretty bows on dancing shoes!” Schlitzie announced merrily, and snuggled closer to the man she loved.

“And very cute little shoes they are, too!” said Phroso, regarding the love of his life with a tender, indulgent expression. “You know, if we’re going to be throwing a big party, I suppose I’ll have to get you yet another new dress! Let’s see, I think I promised you a pink one with roses on it last week, didn’t I? That’ll look really nice with your dancing shoes, won’t it, sweetheart?” 

Schlitzie’s face was aglow with pleasure as she squeezed her husband tight. “Kiss?” she entreated sweetly, and Phroso bent down to give her what she craved. 

Pepper and Salty watched for a moment, still smiling, then gave each other a loud, smacking kiss that got everybody laughing. 

“Play with us!” Pepper demanded, tugging at Phroso and Schlitzie’s sleeves. Phroso nodded and reluctantly let go of his affectionate spouse.

“What are we playing, now – tag, is it?” Phroso inquired, and reached over to tap Salty on the arm. “In that case, my friend – you’re it!”

And they laughed and chased and played for what seemed like hours and hours.


End file.
